Saturday Showcase: Warlock

Warlock

    Marvel's Contest of Champions inspired last week's post, but it also inspired this week's post.   The arrival of Sunspot and Warlock in the game brought back memories from my childhood reading the New Mutants adventures from Marvel Comics.  
    Warlock is a member of the alien Technarchy, a race of mechanical organisms that survive by infecting living creatures with the "techno-organic" transmode virus, before draining the life energy or "lifeglow" of the infected organism. Unlike others of his race, Warlock possesses a distinctive degree of compassion, and as a result was dubbed a mutant in spirit; It was later discovered that he is in fact a mutant of his race even though he has yet to display any abilities beyond those natural to the Technarch. 
    He is the son of the Technarch ruler who has battled the New Mutants and the X-Men. Warlock served as a member of the original New Mutants for much of that group's existence, and became the best friend of his teammate Cypher aka Doug Ramsey.

New Mutants

    Cypher and Warlock fought many battles together.  He considered Doug family.  Doug's death at the hands of the Ani-Mator devastated Warlock, leading him to go so far as to steal Doug's body. With the help of the rest of the New Mutants, he came to terms with Doug's death (and returned his friend's body to the rightful place).

    Shortly after the event known as Inferno, Warlock was kidnapped from the grounds of the X-Mansion, along with his friends Rictor, Boom Boom and Wolfsbane, and ended up on the island nation of Genosha which was ruled by Cameron Hodge. Warlock was killed in an attempt by Hodge to steal his powers.  The news of his death was broadcast worldwide, a public relations disaster for Genosha since the world believed Warlock to be a "normal" human mutant. Wolfsbane asked Boom Boom to put Warlock's ashes on Doug's grave.  It is this act that eventually led to the arrival of Douglock, but that is a post for another day.

Warlock

First Appearance:

The New Mutants #18 (August 1984)

Created by:
        Chris Claremont & Bill Sienkiewicz

Team Affiliations:
        X-Men
        New Mutants
        Fallen Angels
        Excalibur
        X-Factor
        Phalanx

Abilities:
Shape-shifting
        Can turn organic objects and beings into techno-organic matter
        Can drain the life energy from techno-organic matter

Doug aka Cypher and Warlock to the Rescue

Until next time, get your READ on!